Plastic Fantastic

I was consternated a few months ago, when, after investing in a bunch of new Nalgene water bottles so I wouldn’t have to destroy the Earth buying bottled water, it turned out that some of the hard plastic bottles could leach BPA (bisphenol A), a hormone disruptor, into the contents of the bottle. Of course, it’s not only water bottles where BPA lurks—the substance is also found in plastic baby bottles (!) and tin can liners.

Luckily, the FDA has just come out with a draft assessment that, according to the Washington Post, says there is no risk from BPA in food containers: “Exposure to the small amounts of BPA that migrate from the containers into the food they hold are not dangerous to infants or adults,” the draft says.

Of course, this news contradicts, according to the Post, more than 100 studies by government scientists and universities that have found health risks—ranging from breast and prostate cancers to diabetes and reproductive problems—associated with BPA.